We’d like to have a say in the City of Toronto, where a continuous battle between Mayor Rob Ford and Toronto City Council over choosing an underground subway or at-grade LRT for the Eglinton Avenue corridor has recently gained nationwide attention.
Editor’s note (October 28, 2025): at the time of writing, the Eglinton Crosstown LRT (Line 5) was combined with an in-place conversion of the former Scarborough RT (Line 3) to an interlined LRT, and known as the Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown LRT. The Scarborough extension of Line 5 Eglinton Crosstown was dropped when it was decided to extend the Line 2 Bloor-Danforth subway instead.
The Eglinton-Scarborough Crosstown LRT would have cost $8.2 billion for a fully underground line[1]. Advocates say that reverting to at-grade running to Scarborough would bring a 20% cost savings that would allow funds to be freed for other projects across the Toronto region. The reasoning certainly makes sense, but the at-grade switch would impact the line’s operating speeds and add 20 minutes (a nearly 50% increase!) to the end-to-end trip travel time.
However, using the same advanced rapid transit technology (ART) servicing the Vancouver SkyTrain system with Bombardier Innovia Metro/ART trains (or comparable) and with linear induction motor track would provide the same cost savings that moving a portion of the LRT at-grade would and more, despite a need for complete grade separation of the line.
The Crosstown Advanced Rapid Transit (Crosstown ART) would provide faster and more reliable service, be more flexible in capacity expansion, and remove the travel time penalty with at-grade LRT.
In Osaka, Japan, linear inductor motor technology was found to allow for as much as a 20% capital cost savings over a traditional third-rail type subway implementation because the use of a linear motor allowed for lower vehicle height, which meant a smaller tunnel diameter and a smaller tunnel-boring machine. An overwhelming majority of new rapid transit implementations in Japan have since chosen to make use of Linear Induction Motor technology and often combine it with automatic train control just like the Vancouver SkyTrain. [4]
Were light rail-type technology with overhead electrification to be pursued on the Eglinton Crosstown where a large portion of the line would be underground, tunnels would need to be larger in diameter than even that of subway tunnels and much more expensive to construct.
There would likely be even more than a 20% cost savings with a linear-motor system such as ART.
The new line as a linear-induction motor ART would also be able to integrate with the existing compatible track on the Scarborough RT.
Although it would cost some money to refurbish and retrofit the Scarborough RT to meet the standards needed by newer and longer ART 200 and Metro 300 vehicles, these costs are estimated at only $400 million in today’s dollars [5] and more than funded by the cost savings from the smaller diametre tunnels required for the tunneled portions if Eglinton Crosstown is built as an ART (i.e. 20% of $8 billion is $1.6 billion).
Those savings would also permit the at-grade portion of the Eglinton Crosstown east of Don Mills to be elevated above street-level.
Crosstown ART would also be able to provide increased speed and capacity over light rail if it were automated, with the latest train designs having been specified by Bombardier to run as frequently as 75 seconds and as fast as 110km/h [2]. Because the higher frequencies would allow for the same level of service with shorter train lengths, the TTC can save even further in capital costs by using much shorter stations and platforms than would otherwise be required with light rail. The savings would be especially prevalent on underground stations.
Current Scarborough RT platforms are 80m long and could accommodate 5-car trains, similar to Vancouver’s own SkyTrain system.
If 5-car Innovia Metro trains were used and run at every 75 seconds (it is possible [7]) and modifications to seating layout are done so that they match the longitudinal seating and higher crush load capacity of the similar vehicles operating in Kuala Lumpur [8], the Crosstown ART would provide a theoretical maximum capacity that is comparable to that of the full Toronto Subway’s.
If the TTC were to build Crosstown with both ART technology AND as a driver-less service—as is already being planned on the Yonge Subway Line [6]—lower operating costs and higher farebox recovery would also allow for other regional transit service improvements to come sooner.
Being totally grade-separated, the Crosstown ART would be immune to many of the variables presented that could limit or restrict the reliability of LRT line operation. For example: if there is any obstruction on at-grade LRT track such as an accident, that portion of the LRT line has to be closed completely. This is a common problem on the existing Toronto streetcar that often causes lengthy delays to all trains along the route.
The Toronto Transit Commission, Metrolinx and other involved parties need to undertake a serious review of their options for this corridor, as one option that would cost less than both LRT and traditional subway-type implementations is being left out and not discussed. SkyTrain/ART technology would provide significant benefits, for even less cost than the planned LRT.
Torontonians need to realize the true technological benefits of such an implementation and why it would be most suitable on Eglinton.
SkyTrain for Surrey is the community organization that advocated for the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension. From our beginnings as a petition calling for the scrapping of a street-level LRT proposal, we grew into a community of like-minded folk, taking on various projects such as making SkyTrain an election issue in 2018 as a registered advocacy group. SkyTrain for Surrey continues to call for high-quality transit infrastructure projects serving Surrey, Delta and the Langleys.
Daryl Dela Cruz – Founder, SkyTrain for Surrey
Phone: +1 604 329 3529, [email protected]
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